tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263Sun, 02 Aug 2015 02:20:40 +0000Freedom by the Sword: A Historian’s Journey through the American Civil War Erahttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)Blogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-600780919879205863Fri, 31 Jul 2015 01:56:00 +00002015-07-30T23:28:53.959-04:00Ain’t I a Human? – Dehumanization, Then & Now
In my previous post, I lamented the troubling legacies of
the American Civil War that have been cropping up in recent headlines. In the
intervening weeks since I wrote that post, a new scandal has broken into the
headlines – a story which contains several parallels to the dehumanizing
practice of slavery in the antebellum South and which originates from the same
ideological cesspool…and yet no http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/07/aint-i-human-dehumanization-then-now.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-7240887876160408180Sat, 04 Jul 2015 19:47:00 +00002015-07-04T15:48:56.574-04:00We’ve Got a Long Way to Go: The Confederate Battle Flag, George Takei’s “Uncivil” Rant, & the Legacy of Race in America Well, if ever anyone needed ammunition to bolster their arguments that the haunting legacies of slavery and the Civil War still impact our nation today, the past few weeks have provided an abundance of troubling evidence.
I, for one, was very troubled over the initial debate over the public display of the Confederate battle flag in the wake of the horrific hate crime in Charleston. To me, it http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/07/weve-got-long-way-to-go-confederate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-2983273689208913296Mon, 25 May 2015 12:19:00 +00002015-05-25T08:20:10.863-04:00The Unknown Loyal Dead
Just around the corner from Mrs. Lee’s famed rose garden
at Arlington house lays a nearly-forgotten monument that was the first Tomb of Unknown
Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Erected in 1866, this massive crypt
houses the remains of 2,111 Union war dead that were removed from hastily dug
mass graves on the battlefields stretching from Manassas to the Rappahannock
River.
Tomb of the http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-unknown-loyal-dead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-1215676067223314243Tue, 12 May 2015 14:16:00 +00002015-05-12T10:17:59.871-04:00May 12, 1864: Death of a Legend
The following is an eyewitness account of Maj. Gen. J.E.B.
Stuart’s death on May 12, 1864. Stuart’s adjutant, Maj. Henry McClellan, wrote
to Flora Stuart to explain the circumstances of how he was wounded and the
manner of his death. Flora had arrived at the home Dr. Charles Brewer on May 12th
to find that Stuart had been dead for several hours and was greatly grieved to
know that she had just http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-12-1864-death-of-legend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-8966374069125966673Tue, 12 May 2015 00:26:00 +00002015-05-11T20:29:55.092-04:00“Bully for Gordon!” – Fighting at Ground Squirrel Church, May 11, 1864
While many people are familiar with the Battle of Yellow
Tavern and the resultant mortal wounding of famed Confederate cavalry chieftain
J.E.B. Stuart, the hotly contested fighting that centered around Goodall’s
Tavern and Ground Squirrel Church in Hanover County on the same day has
received scant attention. This rear guard action pitted Brig. Gen. James B.
Gordon’s Tarheel Brigade against some http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/05/bully-for-gordon-fighting-at-ground.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-2052314410758360944Fri, 01 May 2015 03:03:00 +00002015-04-30T23:04:40.644-04:00Virginia Time Travel Appearance Look ma, I'm famous!
I recently sat down with the good folks at Virginia Time Travel to discuss a variety of subjects, to include Freedman’s Village, the Battle of New Market Heights, and this very blog.
If you’ve got a cool thirty minutes to kill, why not take a gander?
(NOTE: At one point in the interview I tripped over my tongue and said that two Federal Corps crossed the James at http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/04/virginia-time-travel-appearance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-5618716647506192526Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:11:00 +00002015-04-20T12:15:26.799-04:00A Heartrending Letter from Freedman’s Village
Every once in a while in my research I find something that transcends
the usual dry recitation of facts and events – something that leaps off of the
page and eradicates the 150 year barrier that separates me from the people and
events I am investigating.
A recent find that falls into that category is a letter
housed in the collection of the Library of Georgia from a woman named Ann Butler
whohttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-heartrending-letter-from-freedmans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-2869346925327105463Tue, 14 Apr 2015 20:20:00 +00002015-04-14T16:24:23.275-04:00In Memoriam: Elizabeth Brown Pryor
Today the sad news was announced that Elizabeth Brown Pryor, author of the Lincoln Prize-Winning Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee through his Private Letters, was killed in a tragic car accident in Richmond, Va.
I had the pleasure to meet Ms. Pryor on a few occasions, mainly when I worked at Arlington House, and she was always upbeat and kind, with a memorable smile.
She was a http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/04/in-memoriam-elizabeth-brown-pryor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-7631080064678059240Tue, 07 Apr 2015 01:40:00 +00002015-04-07T10:50:44.302-04:00Lest We Forget: New Market Heights Medals of Honor Issued 150 Years Ago Today
While the nation is busy commemorating the Battle of Sailor’s
Creek and Lee’s flight to Appomattox, today marks another, less famous
anniversary that is nonetheless extremely significant.
On April 6, 1865 – 150 years ago today – the Medal of Honor
was authorized for African American foot soldiers for the very first time in
American history (Sgt. William Carney of the 54th Massachusetts did
http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/04/lest-we-forget-new-market-heights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-5985768614798391539Fri, 13 Mar 2015 02:22:00 +00002015-03-12T23:43:53.503-04:00Back in the Saddle (Again)
Well hello there, sorry for the prolonged absence! In my
defense, my wife and I recently welcomed a third bundle of joy into the House
of Price, so things have been a bit chaotic recently.
Other than checking in to reassure you that I am still alive
and have not absconded my role as Civil War author, blogger, and occasional annoyance to Kevin Levin, I thought I’d update you on my newest book http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/03/back-in-saddle-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-2163094061325037357Wed, 21 Jan 2015 23:24:00 +00002015-01-21T18:24:46.566-05:00Fun with Facebook: New Market Heights Edition
For those interested in an exercise regarding history,
memory, and modern (mis) understandings of the American Civil War, I present to
you the following link from the Civil War Trust’s Facebook page.
Murica
The link gives the full text of an article by Gordon Berg
entitled “Battle of New Market Heights: USCT Soldiers Proved Their Heroism.”
The article originally appeared in the March 2006 http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2015/01/fun-with-facebook-new-market-heights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-6773159553148747587Fri, 31 Oct 2014 01:35:00 +00002014-10-30T21:36:02.062-04:00A Few More Thoughts on Civil Discourse
As you may have seen, Kevin Levin has responded to my previous post and I thank him for taking the time to clarify a few things.
He and I are certainly on the same page when it comes to
keeping the discussion all “about the history.” I was further relieved by Levin’s
admission that, “I agree with Jimmy that many of the comments that followed the
post are troubling for the reasons he cites.”
http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-few-more-thoughts-on-civil-discourse.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-5446807706609206437Thu, 30 Oct 2014 02:32:00 +00002014-10-29T22:58:58.543-04:00Civil Discourse: A Memory?
In our increasingly polarized society there seems to have
been a shift from a “live and let live” mentality to a vigorous prosecution of
“thought crime” – no longer can we agree to disagree, but anyone who strays
from what is considered the cultural mainstream is called out and proverbially
tarred and feathered for not keeping in lockstep with the rest of us.
This creeps into the Civil War http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/10/civil-discourse-memory.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-6023716769717150140Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:47:00 +00002014-10-21T22:37:23.069-04:00The Battle of First Deep Bottom: In Stores Today!
I am happy to announce that my second book, The Battle of First Deep Bottom has hit shelves nationwide today!
This work is a much different animal from my first book on
New Market Heights, in that it chronicles events on the north side of the James
River from late June of 1864 thought the end of July.
I was fortunate enough to team up with Steve Stanley again
for the maps and Hampton http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-battle-of-first-deep-bottom-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-443001712599436739Sat, 27 Sep 2014 02:56:00 +00002014-09-26T22:57:48.303-04:00New Market Heights-A-Palooza: It Begins!
Well hello there, sorry for falling off the face of the
planet (again)! I do have a decent excuse, though – over the past three months
I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my second book.
So even though this post is primarily about New Market
Heights, take a quick minute and order a copy of The Battle of First Deep Bottom (don’t worry, the Federals attack the New Market Line in this onehttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-market-heights-palooza-it-begins.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-5831182847665613452Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:20:00 +00002014-06-18T22:44:28.057-04:00Campaign Before Richmond Symposium: June 20th, 6-9PM
This Friday, June 20th, I will be speaking at the
“Campaign Before Richmond Symposium” at Deep Bottom Park. The event will be
held in a large tent near the historic site of the Deep Bottom bridgehead on
the 150th anniversary of when it was established, so this is a unique
opportunity to learn more about Grant’s famous “double-enders” on the site from
which they were launched.
I have the honorhttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/06/campaign-before-richmond-symposium-june.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-4200387821725272925Mon, 19 May 2014 22:25:00 +00002014-05-20T17:49:17.588-04:00Some Sesquicentennial Food for Thought
Well, tonight at the site of the Harris Farm the
commemoration of the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House
will come to an end. While I wish I had been able to attend more of the
commemorative events, those I did have the pleasure of going to or helping to
lead seemed appropriately somber and very well done.
I tend to fall into the camp of folks who believe that
battlefieldshttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/05/some-sesquicentennial-food-for-thought.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-1743552887910859425Sat, 10 May 2014 13:19:00 +00002014-05-10T12:40:30.768-04:00May 9 & 10, 1864: The War Returns to Beaver Dam Station
In the predawn darkness of May 9, 1864 Sheridan’s entire
corps mounted and set out on their mission to take out J.E.B. Stuart and the
cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. Little Phil was taking his entire
force with him, leaving no horse soldiers behind to help Grant at Spotsylvania Court
House.
The corps created quite the spectacle, with a column that stretched
13 miles and took 4 hourshttp://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-9-10-1864-war-returns-to-beaver-dam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-1507693409310236037Fri, 09 May 2014 00:17:00 +00002014-05-08T20:38:42.635-04:00“Damn Stuart, I can thrash hell out of him any day”: The Origins of Sheridan’s Raid & the Road to Yellow Tavern – 150 Years Ago Today
150 years ago today, the violent explosion of two of the
biggest tempers in the Army of the Potomac led to a massive mounted raid that,
among other things, killed the talented Confederate cavalry chieftain J.E.B.
Stuart.
After a month in charge of the Army of the Potomac’s
cavalry, 33-year-old Philip H. Sheridan reached a boiling point with
48-year-old Army of the Potomac commander George http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/05/damn-stuart-i-can-thrash-hell-out-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-1016181085699973302Fri, 25 Apr 2014 18:59:00 +00002014-04-25T14:59:08.954-04:00Yellow Tavern Bus Tour Details
Well, it’s hard to believe, but we only have 16 days until
the Yellow Tavern Commemorative Bus Tour on Sunday May 11th! I will
be tackling half of the tour along with Sam McKelvey, the Site Manager for
Dabbs House and Walkerton Tavern in Henrico County.
We have poured many hours of research into this tour, doing
everything from driving the original route numerous times to consulting with
http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/04/yellow-tavern-bus-tour-details.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-5697450634580566003Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:52:00 +00002014-03-11T22:55:09.348-04:00Quick Hits: 3/11/2014
Hello again!
While I realize things have been a bit slow here over the
past few weeks, I wanted to make you aware of some random bits of news that
need to be brought to your attention.
At the top of the list is a new blog from my friend Hampton
Newsome, author of the excellent Richmond Must Fall and co-editor of Civil War Talks, both of which you should immediately add to your bookshelf http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/03/quick-hits-3112014.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-2353681908619072531Sat, 22 Feb 2014 03:00:00 +00002014-02-21T22:02:33.345-05:00Olustee Diary: William Woodlin, 8th USCT
Anyone who has done research on United States Colored Troops
will tell you that finding an original letter or diary from an African American
Union soldier is akin to the discovery of Noah’s Ark. Primary documents from
USCTs are scarce, which makes the diary of William P. Woodlin, held in the
collection of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute, a truly remarkable document. Woodlin belonged to the band of http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/02/olustee-diary-william-woodlin-8th-usct.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-133401836750820385Wed, 19 Feb 2014 17:20:00 +00002014-02-19T18:34:43.147-05:00Checking Back InWell hello there! I apologize for the prolonged absence, but
life and work have eaten up the majority of my time as of late. Still, even
though there hasn’t been much activity on the blog, I have been hard at work on
some projects and events that I thought I’d bring you up to speed on.
If you live in the
Manassas area, I will be giving a lecture and book signing next Thursday (February 27th)http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/02/checking-back-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-7409050905102701906Sat, 15 Feb 2014 13:05:00 +00002014-02-15T08:06:01.482-05:00“Recklessness galore, gallantry mere more, disgrace in store, Seymour; Union General Commanding”
NOTE: This post originally appeared on The Sable Arm on February 20, 2011. It has been reposted in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Olustee.
Thus was described the Battle of Olustee, fought on February
20, 1864, by a quick-witted officer in Co. K, 7th Connecticut Infantry. While
the battle itself was not one of the finer military exploits produced by the
Union war effort http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2014/02/recklessness-galore-gallantry-mere-more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161176118626950263.post-6326161631660470381Wed, 27 Nov 2013 04:22:00 +00002013-11-27T09:25:29.839-05:00A Living Legacy of “Councillor” Carter’s Deed of Gift: Nimrod Burke, 23rd USCT
On September 5, 1791 Robert “Councillor” Carter III – scion of
one of the wealthiest slave-owning families in all of American history – filed his
famous “Deed of Gift” with Virginia’s Northumberland District Court, announcing
his intention to free over 450 of the slaves that toiled at 16 plantations
under his care.
Robert Carter III
It was the single largest act of liberation in American
http://sablearm.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-living-legacy-of-councillor-carters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Price)0